Graphical User Interface (GUI) testing is a predominantly manual process. Manual test scripts are used to guide new users through a user interface telling them what they should be able to see and do. For most companies, these test scripts were written many years ago and since then new techniques that automate the testing of user interfaces have been developed. It can be a lengthy and costly process for a company to convert existing test scripts over to an automated technique.
Testing tools that deal with automation of user interface tests often have a ‘record’ feature that will make a note of a user's actions and produce a test script that replicates their mouse clicks. These tools will not check the content of a window but just those links or buttons are in the same place and that they work. These tools may require manual recording each time instead of using the recorded script.